THE BENEFITS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
The only clean, safe energy source capable of ensuring the continuation of our industrial civilization while protecting the environment.
Energy conservation, solar electricity and wind turbines are quite incapable of satisfying the needs of our industrial civilization. When the oil and gas run out – probably well before 2100 – we will be left with two alternatives. Coal which will last for a few centuries and uranium which is good for millenia. The position of our not-for-profit international association is that nuclear power is clean, safe, reliable and economically competitive. It emits no greenhouse gas, and uranium resources are essentially inexhaustable. Fear of radiation due to nuclear power is quite unwarranted and nuclear waste is manageable (the notorious ‘problem’ of nuclear waste is an artificial problem). We are of course in favor of energy conservation and renewable energies but insist that they are inadequate to meet the demands of our industrial civilization and a growing world economy or to satisfy the aspirations of developing nations. Our purpose is to promote the peaceful application of nuclear energy for its environmental benefits, and it is our conviction that nuclear energy is totally green. Accordingly, our program provides factual information on energy and the environment, especially to make sure that nuclear energy is not set aside for essentially frivolous objections. Founded ten years ago, after the publication of Bruno Comby’s book Un écologiste pour le nucléaire, EFN now has over 8000 members and supporters in 56 countries. The book has appeared in English, Romanian, Japanese and most recently in Chinese; Spanish, Italian and Russian are in preparation or negotiation. The Association has a lecture bureau which delivers about 100 presentations a year world-wide. EFN is a founding member of the World Nuclear Association and recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Originally a French association, EFN now has chapters in the USA, Canada, Poland, UK and Japan. Among the members of its Scientific Committee are found world leaders in the field of protection of the environment, climate and energy, including James Lovelock and the late Anglican bishop of Birmingham (UK) Hugh Montefiore, who had been a member of the board of Friends of the Earth (UK) for 20 years, read out of the movement when he announced his support for nuclear energy. Patrick Moore is Honorary Chairman of EFN-Canada; in 1971 he was one of the founders of Greenpeace and served as its director for many years. Let me invite you to visit our website and become a personal supporter of EFN. (As a grassroots organization of individuals, we don’t have a class of institutional members.) We would be grateful for your support.
Berol Robinson October 2006